Greetings!
It's February and with that comes Bikram's birthday (10th), the Yoga Asana Championships (12th-14th), Valentine's Day (14th) and the Chinese New Year of the tiger (14th). We're also halfway through the BYD Challenge. All of these things point to one thing: Satsang.
Learn more about satsang and what it can tell you about yourself in Nora Jeanne's article in the righthand column. We have yet another new teacher as well as visiting teachers, champions no less, and more to share with you so be sure to read through the announcements. Monica Rao is the featured BYD Member this month as she'll be representing Texas in the Youth Division of the 7th Annual Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup. At 12 years old, that's quite an accomplishment! We're proud of you, Monica!
BYD Austin has been involved with the Championships from the start, both by supporting competitors and hosting the Texas Yoga Asana Championship. Five of the teachers on our staff, Jeff Chen, Mardy Chen, Kathy Durham, Jonathon Haack and Cathy Mondloch have all been to Los Angeles representing the states of Texas, Oregon and New Mexico in previous National Championships.
Not clear just what the championships are about? This year's championships will be broadcast via live stream video from the Yoga Cup website: http://yogacup.com so you can see for yourself as well as read more about its host, the USA Yoga Federation, and its mission in the piece below. The National championships takes place on Friday, February 12th, the International Championships take place on Saturday, February 13th and the Youth Division and top 10 men and 10 top women (based on score) from Friday and Saturday will compete again on Sunday, Valentine's Day, for the final Championship title.
You'll see some absolutely amazing practices and postures being demonstrated in the competition. In case you're intrigued and want to know more, we offer the advanced class to members with a solid foundation in the beginning class as a means to deepen their yoga practice. It's fun just to watch the incredible yogis that we have practicing and teaching here at BYD Austin do their thing. You can also consider attendng one of Bikram's Advanced Seminars which he hosts each year. There's a beginning class followed by the advanced class, in which he teaches how each posture is to be done, every day!
Enjoy!
p.s. The healthy food item is pineapple. |
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Announcements New Teachers: Please welcome Tara Hitzig who has just moved here from Los Angeles and has been teaching since Spring of 2001. We're excited to have her join our team of excellent teachers.
Visiting Teachers: BYD Austin has two outstanding yogis and teachers coming to town to teach classes in the closing weeks of the BYD Challenge. Please welcome 2007 Men's International Yoga Asana Champion, Ky Ha, who will be in town from February 18th to 25th and 2009 Men's National Champion, Joseph Encinia, who will be in town from March 1st to the 8th. Be sure to get in at least one of their classes. The teacher schedule will be posted online as always and is accessible by clicking on the words my account in the top right corner of each page on the website.
Parking Downtown: Please be conscientious of our neighbors when parking to visit the Downtown location. We have had some neighbors expressing concern about our members parking in or blocking access to their designated parking areas. There are over 150 parking spaces in our building (the Gables/Pressler building) with easy, fully covered access to the studio. The garage stretches back and up spanning three floors. Please plan ahead, come early and know that there will be a space waiting just for you.
Lost & Found and Locks for Rent: While we never want any of our customers to be inconvenienced, please know that we cannot be held responsible for lost or stolen items. The lost and found bins have been filling very quickly and we simply do not have the space to store these items for long. Shoes, jackets, mats, water bottles, clothing, etc. left behind will be regularly donated to charity. We also now have locks for rent for $1 so that you can safely lock your items in a locker. Perhaps things won't be left behind as frequently when using a lock. |
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Monica Rao
BYD member Monica Rao won the title of Champion, Youth Division in the 7th Annual Texas Yoga Asana Championship which took place on November 8th, 2009 in The Woodlands. She will be representing Texas in the 7th Annual Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup International Yoga Asana Championship in Los Angeles on February 14th, 2010. That's this Sunday!
Monica is 12 years old and in 7th grade at St. Stephens Episcopal School. She has participated in various sports earlier in her life but never really found any that she felt particularly good at. She begrudgingly attended her first Bikram Yoga class with her mother after being diagnosed with a thyroid disorder as a result of weight gain a couple years ago and told to practice yoga to help with the condition. The teachers saw her latent talent and encouraged her to continue but the class wasn't easy and she found it difficult to fit into her already busy schedule. But over the summer, while in Bangalore, India, visiting with her grandmother they had a long talk. Her grandmother insisted that if she were to give up playing field hockey (the most popular sport in India) she would have to take yoga as a sport seriously. Some of the teachers at BYD Austin had already been encouraging her to compete so she decided then that she would.
Monica is a gifted actress and lights up when on stage. She is naturally more flexible than most but that is not to say that mastering any of the postures has come easily. Her coaches (the teachers at BYD Austin) set the bar high for her in the beginning by insisting that she compete to win. She's experienced many aches and pains over these last few months while training and, while working with her coaches the other day, admitted that she's never had to work so hard at anything before.
The Youth Division Championships will begin at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific time) on Sunday. Please join with us in holding the vision of Monica shining on stage and thoroughly enjoying her moment in the spotlight. |
USA Yoga is a non-profit organization formed for the purpose of developing and promoting Yoga Asana (yoga postures) as a sport. Yoga Asana competitions originated in India hundreds of years ago and are still being conducted there today. USA Yoga is now bringing this spirit of healthy competition to the United States, where, according to a recent study, more than 25 million people either practice yoga or intend to start within the next year. USA Yoga believes that the sport of Yoga Asana will inspire many of these practitioners to improve their practices and encourage many newcomers to take up the practice of yoga and the sport of Yoga Asana.
USA Yoga is developing educational programs, rules and regulations so that the necessary competitive skills can be understood and mastered by competitors, coaches, judges, administrators and yoga studio operators. Successful competitors will need to achieve mastery of physical strength, stamina, balance, flexibility, breath and concentration. Today, USA Yoga sponsors annual regional Yoga Asana competitions as well as a national competition held in February of each year. These competitions are open to competitors from any yoga school or style and all are encouraged to participate. To borrow an ancient phrase, 'the paths are many, the sport is one.'
USA Yoga believes that the practice of yoga and Yoga Asana is beneficial for the physical and mental health of all practitioners - children, teens, adults and seniors. Increased awareness of the sport of Yoga Asana will encourage existing practitioners to sharpen their skills through training, dedication, and devotion to the sport, and will inspire new practitioners to begin a practice which leads to a healthier and happier life.
USA Yoga seeks to become the national governing body for the sport of Yoga Asana and has applied to the United States Olympic Committee to be recognized as such. USA Yoga's goal is to join with similar organizations in other countries to form an international yoga federation and to qualify Yoga Asana as an Olympic sport.
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Pineapple
Beyond the typical benefits common to fresh fruits high in antioxidants, pineapple has an additional enzyme, bromelain, that is a natural anti-inflammatory.
Bromelain contains a group of protein-digesting enzymes that are excellent for the intestinal tract and aid with digestion. The anti-inflammatory benefits make it highly effective in healing sports-related injuries, sprains and bruises as well as reducing arthritis symptoms and post-operative swelling.
Pineapples are excellent sources of Vitamin C and manganese. This is the time of year for Vitamin C as it keeps the immune system functioning properly and helps to prevent colds, flu and ear infections. The anti-inflammatory benefits in the bromelain also help to ease bronchitis, sore throat and sinusitis by loosening mucus and suppressing coughs. Vitamin C is good for preventing gingivitis and periodontal disease and also helps the body to metabolize fats and cholesterol, absorb iron, and synthesize amino acids and collagen. Collagen is crucial for healthy skin, cartilage and bones. Manganese also is necessary for your body to build bone and connective tissues.
Pineapples are also a good source for Vitamin A, calcium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, fiber and Vitamins B1 and B6 and are low in fat and cholesterol. They also help prevent macular degeneration in adults as well as memory loss and are thought of as a mood-lifter.
While we are not quite in the peak season for pineapples (March through July), it's helpful to know that canned pineapples and pineapple juice provide virtually the same nutrients. |
Congratulations to all the BYD Challengers who will soon be heading into the home stretch! Let there be no doubt that the satsang that is BYD Austin will keep you healthy and growing!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Sincerely,
The Yoga Team
BYD Austin |
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The Power of Satsang
We all know that February 14th is Valentine's Day, but this year it also heralds the Chinese New Year of the Metal Tiger. That combined with Bikram's birthday on the 10th and the annual Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup International Yoga Asana Championship the same weekend, and it's clear that February's all about the heart centered growth inherent to Bikram Yoga.
February is a month for celebrating in Bikram Yoga. Bikram loves a party more than anyone I've ever met. He can dance for hours on end and will be the last one going on the dance floor well into the wee hours of the night. He uses the excuse of the yoga competition to call together his entire worldwide community to party with him and celebrate his birthday. And truly it seems that there's no greater source of satisfaction for him than to watch the teachers and students of his yoga take the stage and perform their three minute routines. Each year the level of difficulty and beauty of the execution of the postures gets better and better. After witnessing the performances year after year, the grace, growth and courage being exhibited by the competitors is truly inspiring.
People come from all over the world to both compete and watch the championships. It is now broadcast via live stream video from the Yoga Cup website and takes place over three days. The US National competition takes place on Friday, February 12th, the International competition takes place on Saturday, February 13th and the Youth Division and the top 10 men and top 10 women from Friday and Saturday (based on scores) will perform again on Sunday, Valentine's Day, for the final Champion title.
The word Satsang in Sanskrit means true community or right association. Bikram describes it as "a gathering of fellow souls" in his book Bikram Yoga. With this thought in mind it is clear that the Bikram Yoga community is a tremendously large and diverse satsang. I love returning each year for this weekend not only to watch the performances but also to reconnect with my Bikram family. The, at times, grueling experience that Teacher Training was for me and all my fellow trainees, created a bond amongst us all that needs no testing. I expect to see many of my classmates and others from the trainings before and after mine this weekend and look forward to it immensely. There's little that can bring the same kind of joy that I feel when I happen to run into one of my classmates from training unexpectedly.
The Teacher Training is 9 weeks long, 63 days, of incubation in an all consuming environment of yoga, lectures, posture clinics, aches and pains and sleepless nights wondering why did I do this? BYD Austin's 60 Class Challenge is essentially the same thing only here the challengers have to mix the yoga in with their regular day to day responsibilities. We've now crossed the halfway mark and we've heard from many that they are fed up and over the obligation of doing the yoga every single day. I'm sure many wonder if, when these 60 days are over, they will really want to come back in and take yet another Bikram Yoga class.
The structure of the teacher training is designed to push the trainees to their breaking point and help them to see and move through their life patterns and preconceived limits so they can be like the phoenix rising from the ashes. That's what the Bikram Challenge is about as well.
We've chosen an interesting time for the first BYD Challenge. The Chinese Year of the Tiger beginning right in the middle of the Challenge is auspicious. I came across the following description of the qualities of the tiger in Chinese astrology:
"Tigers are known for their intelligence, competitiveness, courage, resilience, vanity, friendliness, and magnetism. They are bold, charismatic and authoritarian leaders. They are motivated by strength and power and driven by passion." It went on to say that tigers are "courageous protectors of home and family."
Do you feel safe or afraid when you read that description? Keep in mind it is describing the energy of the year overall, not just the energy of the BYD Challenge. But isn't it interesting that we have Jeff Chen and Sally Niess leading the Bengal Tigers? It's almost as if the description is of Jeff rather than a tiger, don't you think? If you haven't seen the poster board for the Bengal Tigers, you may not have noticed that there are photos of Sally and Jeff on a true Bengal tiger skin, just like Bikram and Bishnu and Paramahansa Yogananda are. And where did that skin come from? You guessed it, Sally had it hidden in her closet at home, saving it for some special occasion.
Satsangs provide powerful support structures which, by virtue of the word itself, are for the better. An asatsang is a group that negatively influences its members. One or the other appears in every aspect of our lives such as home, work, recreation, politics, sports. Look around you and take stock of who's in your satsang. Do you like them? It is said that when you want to get an unbiased perspective of who you are, you only need to take a close look at who you are surrounded by and see them all as mirrors reflecting back to you something of yourself. It is those aspects that bring up the greatest reaction within you, i.e. the things you admire the most in someone else and the things you dislike the most in someone else, that you need to pay attention to as you have the exact same tendencies within yourself.
It's your life, you are an adult and you get to choose who you associate with and how. We hope you feel comfortable and stick around with us at BYD Austin where there's always permission to change and grow.
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BYD Challenge Sponsors
Massage Therapists donating a massage:
Shannon Alvis
(512) 541-9544
Ron Corcoran
Nichelle DeRubeis
knotworker152 @gmail.com
(210) 854-1510 Kip Duvall
(512) 328-6989
Shelley Kaplar
(512) 934-1101
Sara Marantz
Roseanne Mulligan
Network Chirporactic
Lela Perry
(512) 680-2004
Carrie Peruchi
(512) 563-8496 | |
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